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The Serbian Competition Authority has initiated ex officio antitrust proceedings against Serbia Broadband – Srpske kablovske mreže doo Belgrade on grounds of suspected abuse of dominance. This is the first case in which the authority has initiated abuse of dominance proceedings based on soft behavioural remedy (ie, the obligation to report prices).

The Serbian Competition Authority and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have launched an initiative to establish a regional competition forum. The forum will include all Western Balkan states (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) and two EU member states (Slovenia and Croatia). The Centre for Liberal-Democratic Studies has been enlisted as a consultant to help design, implement and manage the forum's operations.

The Serbian Competition Authority has increased its dawn raid activity over the past year. Although conducting dawn raids has been a part of the authority's remit since 2009, no such raids were carried out until the end of 2015. To date, the authority has conducted dawn raids in approximately 10 of its proceedings. The majority of these raids were conducted to establish the existence of restrictive agreements.

Over the past few years, European and national institutions have warned about the negative effects of unfair trading practices in the supply chain. In order to tackle these and regulate the risk of abuse, several countries have enacted distinct trade laws. Croatia recently followed suit by adopting a new Act on the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices in the Business-to-Business Food Supply Chain. The act defines the concept of 'significant buyer power', as well as different types of illegal behaviour.

The Competition Authority recently intensified its regional cooperation. Representatives of the authority met with colleagues from the Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and attended conferences organised by the competition authorities of Romania and Croatia. As a further step towards regional cooperation, there is a plan to establish the Competition Forum of the Western Balkans, with the aim of facilitating cooperation, enhancing harmonisation and improving national legislation.

The Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently set out its objectives and priorities for 2018 in its 2018 Work Programme. One of the council's medium-term objectives is to make market regulation more efficient with the aim of strengthening competition protection. The council has also stressed its dedication to improving its expertise and administrative capacity.

The Competition Authority, together with the Ministry for Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, recently lodged an initiative for the new Competition Act, which will replace the Competition Act 2009. The goal is to harmonise the new act with EU rules while observing the specific demands of the Serbian market. Once the draft is ready, it will be presented for public debate. Further, the authority has issued three draft block regulations for public review and comment.

During 2016 the Competition Authority issued 111 merger control decisions. Most of the notifying parties involved were foreign companies, while notifications filed by domestic companies made up approximately 24% of all filed notifications. The Competition Authority, which proved to be one of the busiest in the region, also conducted a number of sector inquiries.

The process for appointing new Competition Council members is now complete and operational. Specific and complex rules exist for the composition of the council and for it to pass decisions. Among other things, there must be two members representing each of the three constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ie, two Serbs, two Bosnians and two Croatians).

The Commission for the Protection of Competition recently determined that two breweries were engaged in resale price maintenance. The breweries had entered into agreements that contained price-fixing provisions and distributors were allegedly restricted from independently determining resale prices.

The Competition Authority recently determined that two edible sunflower oil market competitors (Vital and Victoriaoil) had concluded a restrictive agreement that limited the production of edible oil and inhibited competition on the market. The authority imposed a fine of 0.33% of the total annual turnover generated in 2014 on the Serbian market. This was the first production cooperation agreement analysed by the authority.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition was the 2017 recipient of an honourable mention at the 2016-2017 Competition Advocacy Contest: Innovative Advocacy Strategies to Address Market Challenges. The article which brought the commission this recognition deals with implementing competition advocacy in government policymaking.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition recently adopted a decision to conduct a retail market study. The study will help to determine the relations between competitors on the retail market at the local, regional and national level. The study is also designed to encompass the wholesale market. The market study results will enable the commission to conduct an ex post assessment of the major concentrations that were carried out in the previous period.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition conditionally cleared the concentration brought about by Serbia Broadband's acquisition of Interaktivne kablovske objedinjene mreže. During the investigation, the commission obtained all of the necessary data, information and opinions on the effects of the concentration from the parties' competitors, broadcasters and independent regulatory bodies responsible for the data relevant to the proceedings.

The Competition Council's main activities in 2016 included issuing opinions and conducting proceedings pursuant to requests filed by undertakings or ex officio. A total of 50% of the cases filed were processed in 2016, while the remaining cases have been carried over to 2017. The council's total income from administrative fees in 2016 was KM234,574 (approximately €115,000), while collected fines reached KM624,492 (approximately €610,000).

The president of the Competition Commission, Miloje Obradović, recently spoke at the Sub-committee on Internal Market and Competition meeting. He briefed the European Commission on all of the activities undertaken to implement the Competition Act and on the level of harmonisation of Serbian competition legislation with the acquis communautaire. Obradović emphasised that future sectoral analyses will focus on the markets that have caught the commission's attention in the past.

The Competition Commission recently issued a decision determining that Bora Kečić and Large Transport had engaged in bid rigging in a public tender procedure launched by public utility company Elektromreže Srbije. By entering into a restrictive agreement, these undertakings significantly restricted and distorted competition. The commission issued fines of approximately €8,000 per company.

The Competition Commission recently issued a decision determining that EPS Distribucija doo Beograd – the only operator on the Serbian electricity distribution market – abused its dominant position. The company was fined €3 million and issued with behavioural remedies aimed at creating equal conditions for doing business on the market. The commission took into account EPS Distribucija's cooperation during the proceedings.

The Foreign Investors Council recently presented the 2016 edition of the White Book – an overview of the traditional business climate in Serbia and recommendations for its improvement. The document notes considerable progress in the work of the Commission for the Protection of Competition. Key improvements include the adoption of the new Merger Notification Decree and the provision of information on the commission's work.

The Competition Authority intends to conduct a competition assessment on the retail market, focusing on non-specialised stores selling mainly food, beverages and tobacco. In the past 10 years in Serbia, there has been significant consolidation of the food retail and distribution market, which has affected the commercial relationship between retailers and their suppliers. The assessment should contribute to a better understanding of this relationship and its possible effects on competition.

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The International Law Office (ILO) is a series of legal newsletters which provide expert legal commentary in the form of concise, regular news updates. ILO is written in collaboration with over 500 of the world's leading experts and covers more than 100 jurisdictions.